A top police officer has spoken of his horror at the carnage on the country's roads this week, after yesterday's crash north of Taupō which killed four people and injured eight others.

A ten-month-old baby has been flown to Auckland's Starship Hospital in a critical condition, a 42-year-old man is critical in Waikato Hospital and a woman is now stable. Five others are in a stable condition in Rotorua Hospital after the head on crash between a van and a people-mover.

The head-on smash yesterday afternoon closed State Highway 1 for hours. Fourteen people have been killed on the roads since Friday and at least another 19 have been injured.